


War is politics by other means

by Lotl101



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-07
Updated: 2012-04-07
Packaged: 2017-11-04 06:52:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/390999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lotl101/pseuds/Lotl101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A 221-B look inside a Holmes' mind. "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."</p>
            </blockquote>





	War is politics by other means

Mycroft Holmes may have occupied a minor position in the British government, but he functioned as the British government. He averted national disaster and started wars. Even those who know Mycroft is no ordinary civil servant do not think he has that power, but who else would? War is only one card in the hand of political maneuvering, and Mycroft is most at home in that realm.

It accomplishes his purpose, sometimes, to be at war. But he does not fight it as others do. Where ordinary people, and sometimes even extraordinary ones (one could not forget Captain John Hamish Watson, after all) use guns and bombs, Mycroft availed himself of his exquisite intellect, and methodical precision. Not all tactical strikes are physical; one well-placed sentence can cause spectacular results as well.

And even with all of his power, Mycroft would never suggest he has any. Power is not a flag to be waved around. It is a certain hint in posture, smoothness in step that says ‘I am completely unconcerned, because you are nothing to me’. Power does not attract attention to itself, and so neither does Mycroft. He looks average in everyway: the image of a minor functionary. Though no one he passes on the street realizes it, Mycroft is Great Britain. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a quote from Karl von Clauswitz that when I saw made me go: Oh, that'd be perfect for Mycroft! The summary is a quote from Margaret Thatcher, which also spoke to me about Mycroft.


End file.
